Chapter 50
On Adventure, one of South Korea's major game webzine sites, there existed countless gaming communities.
Each community had its own tendencies, culture, and constant incidents, but users generally agreed on one thing: there was no better place than Adventure when it came to gathering game information.
[Baek Wi-gang, an elder of the Demonic Cult, evaluated his own martial arts skill as Transcendent Peak. What do you think?]
Among them was the community for For the Sake of Chivalry, commonly called "Hyupben." But the people who played For the Sake of Chivalry usually referred to the community by another name.
NoHyup.
The reason for the nickname was simple.
Contrary to the game title For the Sake of Chivalry, it combined the English word "no," meaning people with no chivalry whatsoever—
And "murim" plus "old geezer," referring to washed-up martial arts boomers obsessed with old-school orthodox wuxia.
Old.
In other words, it was a layered pun that also carried the meaning of "old."
Yet despite the nickname, the actual average age of the site's users was surprisingly young.
==
(Test video)
I've lived as a Namgung warrior for 40 years. Seems it wasn't a wasted life.
===
-Transcendent Peak is supposed to be an extremely difficult realm to achieve, no? Truly an accomplishment worthy of our cult's admiration. Why not take this chance to join the Demonic Cult?
LNot happening, you demon.
-But this game hasn't even existed for 40 years? How exactly did Brother Namgung do that?
-If you're Demonic Cult trash, why are you even taking the test? If you're Demonic Cult trash, why are you even taking the test? If you're Demonic Cult trash, why are you even taking the test?
LYou can still take the exam before joining a faction, you idiot.
-Hawawa, that's amazing-desu.
LUhyo! Super sugoi!
LWhy do people using fake Japanese speech keep showing up no matter how many times I block them?
-There are no true heroes. This is the NoHyup you chose. Survive through evil and sheer grit.
And the roleplaying there was pretty intense.
It felt like people were venting out all the embarrassing things they couldn't bring themselves to do inside the game itself.
Of course, that didn't mean there were no roleplayers inside the game, nor that NoHyup consisted only of comments like these.
In fact, around seventy percent of the posts were fairly normal.
Serious analyses and information-sharing posts, for example.
-Looking at the video, he mixed together the Namgung Clan martial arts from the game really well. Since Baek Wi-gang would catch it if he copied them exactly, he also added good variations to the forms. Is he a master?
-Maybe a high-ranker?
LAt minimum he's a ranked player. Which Namgung Clan ranker would even bother doing something like this? He even wore a mask to hide himself lol.
LIf you learn this old man's true identity, you shall suffer. (Post author)
LI'm jealous of the Transcendent Peak title! I only got one rank from the Demonic Cult.
Though "normal" only applied by internet standards.
-Is it really that hard to get Transcendent Peak before even choosing a faction?
LOO
LThere are standard form sequences for the Demonic Cult exam. If you practice them for about a month and perfectly replicate every movement, you can get the Peak title.
-But not Transcendent Peak. Apparently you have to do something beyond perfection to get that. There's a reason the post author brought his faction's martial arts. They probably used those forms the most, so they must've gained some kind of enlightenment from them. For reference, fewer than fifty people have ever gotten the Transcendent Peak title.
LHoly crap... what if it's really that hard?
LAt the end of the day it just changes the title floating next to your nickname. Though if you get it in the Demonic Cult, they treat you really well. Are you planning to join the Demonic Cult?
LNo!
LThen it doesn't matter—
The reply answered the question about joining the Demonic Cult so firmly and naturally that it was as if the idea wasn't even worth considering.
And beneath it were replies openly mocking the notion.
Looking upward revealed endless people looking down on the Demonic Cult!
Samjangro, a ranker of the Demonic Cult, really disliked the current atmosphere of NoHyup.
"Damn it."
LWhat's even funnier is that none of the Demonic Cult players have ever reached Transcendent Peak kekekekekeke
L2o?
LOO
LHow do you fail your own Demonic Cult exam kekekekekeke
LBaek Wi-gang screwed up lol.
"No, if you're going to say it, explain it properly! Saying it like that just makes Demonic Cult players sound worse than everyone else."
The defining trait of Demonic Cult martial arts was that they had no formal techniques.
Compared to Mount Hua Sect martial arts, which had a staggering twenty-four techniques attached to a single martial art trait, it sounded pitiful.
Actually, "pitiful" wasn't even accurate. They literally had none.
"They should explain that's why no Demonic Cult players have reached Transcendent Peak!"
Every single person who had earned the Transcendent Peak title had modified martial techniques they'd used throughout thousands of gameplay hours.
If you could actually invent genuine martial arts techniques yourself, you'd open a dojo instead of playing games.
"…Or maybe gamers earn more money than martial arts instructors these days."
Thinking such pointless thoughts, Samjangro was about to write a comment explaining the Demonic Cult situation.
Then—
-Lol they're making such a huge fuss over mere Transcendent Peak. The 14th Heavenly Demon of the Great Heavenly Demon Divine Cult received the Grandmaster title lol. Look at these pathetic Namgung Clan clowns getting excited lol.
A completely obvious bait comment appeared.
The nickname was "Fanatic."
Samjangro felt like slapping his forehead.
"That's definitely Demonic Cult…"
Both the nickname and the behavior screamed it.
He also occasionally used old-man speech and roleplayed in group chats, but even he didn't blatantly bait people like this.
It was a little embarrassing.
-No Grandmaster my ass kekekekekeke. Did you dream that up?
-The 14th Heavenly Demon? Lol didn't your Demonic Cult supposedly have hundreds of Heavenly Demons?
LAt least your imagination is impressive lol. Grandmaster my ass.
Actually—
It was very embarrassing.
People often said the most effective response to bait was to ignore it.
But as Samjangro stared at the comments, he realized there was something even more effective than ignoring them.
Mockery.
"Stop ruining the Demonic Cult's image even further… Believer."
All desire to explain disappeared instantly.
He just wanted to escape from this place.
So he pressed the back button.
[Today's winners of the battlefield.]
[If you're proud to be a reliable orthodox faction warrior, upvote lol]
[Baek Wi-gang, an elder of the Demonic Cult, evaluated his own martial arts skill as Transcendent Peak. What do you think?]
[What is true martial arts? And 180 reasons why For the Sake of Chivalry is authentic wuxia]
"I already saw all of these."
Out of habit, he hit refresh.
10 PM, after the battlefield closed.
The busiest hour for NoHyup.
Whenever you refreshed, about one new recommended post would appear.
And when Samjangro saw the newly surfaced post, he burst out laughing despite himself.
"Hahaha. Is this guy insane? Is this actually some galaxy-brain anti-fan tactic? Damn… what are we supposed to do about the Demonic Cult's image now?"
Though he said that, honestly, it was hilarious.
The author was the same baiter who'd gotten laughed at earlier—Fanatic.
And the title was:
["The Demonic Cult Has Gone Mad" Why the Orthodox Factions Tremble in Fear and the Unorthodox Factions Are in Chaos. "Who Exactly Is the 14th Heavenly Demon?"]
"Ah, shit."
Now they were about to get labeled nationalist cringe—no, Demonic cringe.
Even while sighing in frustration, Samjangro secretly grinned as he moved his mouse.
There was no way he couldn't click on a title like that.
But then—
The eyes of the laughing Samjangro widened.
==
(Clip of receiving the Grandmaster title)
"The true Heavenly Demon has descended. From this moment onward, the era of the Great Heavenly Demon Divine Cult shall begin. Heavenly Demon Descends! Ten Thousand Demons Bow!"
-??? lol
-Is this actually real? Also the title is hilarious.
-Looks edited.
-There's no way some random higher-tier title suddenly appears out of nowhere.
-If you look closely, those are basically the standard form sequences. No way that gets anything beyond Transcendent Peak.
-The author's nickname is literally Fanatic...
0661378a8a9d8r67roabsbt
The post included a clip of a streamer genuinely receiving the Grandmaster title.
People seemed uncertain after seeing it.
A completely new rank appearing out of nowhere like this?
Samjangro felt the same way.
"What the hell. Is this real or not?"
Did the Grandmaster title actually exist in the first place?
Then why had nobody else obtained it until now?
Samjangro felt the need to gather more information.
And the best way to get information like this was to try it personally.
"I'm turning the capsule on right now."
At the very least, the situation itself looked real.
Most of the comments questioned its authenticity, but the fact that there was an actual clip uploaded on Travel made it difficult to dismiss outright.
Samjangro immediately entered the capsule.
And started his stream.
[Starting stream.]
Not many viewers came in.
At most a few dozen, at minimum maybe one.
Because he wasn't streaming for a living.
He was a student.
The kind who only barely got permission to use a capsule if his exam scores were good enough.
He didn't think he could properly stream, nor did he believe he had talent for it.
-Why'd you suddenly start streaming?
-20
-Kid, just go to sleep already. You need to grow taller.
-Is it vacation already?
-Talent show on.
He recognized Namgung Clan Shopkeeper and JustOneCoin from the group chat.
There were also rankers and heavy community users.
The battlefield had ended and everyone was resting, but the moment his stream went live, they all entered.
"I don't know what vacation you're talking about."
Wasn't the true endgame content of RPGs supposedly hanging around outside the game itself?
Veteran players all behaved similarly.
There was nothing left to do in-game, yet they also couldn't leave the game behind.
So they chose streaming for entertainment.
Samjangro as the streamer, the others as viewers.
-What do you mean you don't know? You were the happiest one once vacation started.
-This is why you should never reveal your identity lol.
-Samjangro's avatar is this dignified old man, but in reality he's probably some chubby-cheeked—
-He's not even an adult, so he has the censored blood color setting on lol.
"Silence! This elder merely changed the age mode because I did not wish to see the sacred crimson color symbolizing the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult spilling from the bodies of lowly beings. Do not spread baseless rumors that this elder is a middle school student."
-What a cute little performance.
-So, orthodox faction rankers, where are you attacking in tomorrow's battlefield?
-Stop trying to steal information.
-Hey now, avoiding each other benefits both sides.
-As if you weren't going to defend anyway lol.
This place was less of a normal stream and more an extension of the community itself.
While climbing the Demonic Cult mountain, Samjangro kept replaying the video of someone receiving the Grandmaster title.
People in chat slowly started paying attention.
-What are you watching?
-And why are you climbing the Demonic Cult mountain?
-Huh? Why are there so many people gathered there?
The place Samjangro arrived at was the sparring platform where Baek Wi-gang stood.
Normally you'd be lucky to see even an ant there, but now it was packed with people.
And every single one of them stared into empty space.
Samjangro did the same.
-Guess he's upset since he's not answering.
-Hey, are you sulking?
-He's definitely sulking lol.
-So cute.
-Isn't that the Demonic Cult test video?
"Hmm."
After replaying the video several times, Samjangro let out a low murmur.
Then he turned to the chat.
"Ah. I'm not sulking. Apparently a Grandmaster title higher than Transcendent Peak appeared in the Demonic Cult test, brothers."
And using the standard form sequences at that.
That part was even more shocking.
A slightly modified version of forms that had previously capped out at Peak rank had produced a title above Transcendent Peak.
-?? What the hell is Grandmaster?
-Yeah right, quit bullshitting lol.
-Go check NoHyup yourselves right now. I just came from there and it actually seems real.
-Wait, isn't that Streamer Seojun? The one I mentioned before?
Ah.
That streamer from before.
"Anyway, I think I've roughly figured out what he changed from the standard forms, so I should try it myself. There's no limit on attempts anyway."
He climbed onto the sparring stage.
The others nearby still seemed busy analyzing the video.
"Hmph."
This was where the difference in talent between rankers and ordinary users appeared.
Brimming with confidence, he drew his sword atop the platform and demonstrated the forms.
He narrowed the width of his steps and adjusted the angle of the blade to increase sharpness.
As the sword moved, he felt a sense of unity, as though every line of motion connected into one.
He was confident.
At worst, he believed he would at least receive the Peak title.
After all, he had already earned it once before.
And the result was—
"Tsk tsk. You lack even the fundamentals, and you have no talent for constructing techniques. Third-rate! Begone!"
The eyes of Samjangro—who already bore the Peak title above his nickname—shook violently after hearing the reprimand.
"Pffft."
The people watching nearby covered their mouths, but laughter still leaked out.
"Ah, shit."
Blood rushed to his cheeks, making him want to shut off the stream immediately and run away.
-LMAOOOOOOOOOO what the hell did you do?
-No matter how badly you fail, how do you get Third-rate? lolololol
-Hand over your Peak title.
-Should I go try for Grandmaster too?
-Let's all head to the Demonic Cult and take the test.
-"Take the test" X
-"Go tease our cute middle schooler" O
And then—
Famous rankers possessing the Transcendent Peak title began moving to verify the truth.